


Castle on the Hill

by Forest_Girl



Series: Daneroweek 2020 [1]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Biting, Blood, Blood Drinking, Coming Untouched, Extremely Dubious Consent, Human!Nero, Hypnotism, M/M, Mind Control, Mind Manipulation, Multiple Orgasms, Vampire Bites, Vampire!Dante
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:35:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22080034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forest_Girl/pseuds/Forest_Girl
Summary: It was an easy bet from Nico: stay in Fortuna Castle for a whole night, take pictures of himself every hour in there with her specially made camera, and she’d give him enough money to cover his rent for the month. The place was abandoned, and at risk of collapsing, but he needed the money, and it wasn’t like he was hiding out in an occupied house.Except he was, because the castle was, in fact, occupied.
Relationships: Dante/Nero (Devil May Cry)
Series: Daneroweek 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1587706
Comments: 8
Kudos: 214
Collections: DaNero Week 2020





	Castle on the Hill

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompts: Smell/Scent, and Food.
> 
> The theme for this week is ‘Nero gets hurt but there’s always somewhat of a silver lining’ if you couldn’t tell.

Five minutes after Nico dropped him off at the castle’s entrance, and Nero was bored out of his goddamn mind.

Oh sure, all the fantasy novels and tourism pamphlets made castles sound  _ super _ interesting. Come learn about our town-slash-country’s history! Look at these painfully recreated rooms from centuries ago, and admire these ancient tapestries! This is all super interesting and we definitely aren’t saying all this shit just to get you to give us your money!

And those were the  _ recreated _ castles. Those ones had a fair amount of upkeep and were regularly cleaned, on top of regular safety inspections to make sure no one could get hurt. If faithfully recreated castles-turned-tourist-traps were boring, abandoned ones were even worse. 

There weren’t even any fun little info cards scattered around for him to maybe learn a bit, just a bunch of collapsed halls and hole-filled floors. There weren’t any modern rooms that any amenities 

He already had one photo, taken at midnight while he was crossing the absurdly long bridge that lead to the front entrance. Right now, it was about seven past, which meant he had another good eight-or-so hours before the bet was done and he could leave.

Or, more likely, he’d leave whenever Nico drove back and honked at him. So… maybe he had to stick around until noon.

Nero blew a raspberry and made his way further into the castle. Thinking about the bet wouldn’t make time move faster, he might as well try his best to find a place to sleep. He brought a bag with a clean blanket and pillow, as well as some snacks, his phone and a portable phone battery, and then a pair of noise cancelling headphones. If there was anything creaking or moaning here, he could ignore it with ease.

He just needed to find a room that wasn’t  _ too _ broken down, and was somewhat insulated. Should be easy.

* * *

It wasn’t easy.

The castle had been abandoned for… probably centuries, now that Nero thought about it. The poor weather surrounding the castle wore down its foundations at a faster rate than any other ancient building on the usually sunny island of Fortuna. Combine that with the fact that the city didn’t care about keeping it in tip-top shape, and that meant that most of the halls and rooms had either collapsed, or were filled with water damage.

In other words, there weren’t any rooms on the first  _ or _ second floors where Nero couldn’t find at least  _ one _ problem that made it a poor idea to sleep in. The room wasn’t collapsed or didn’t have water damage? Well, the window was smashed and letting in freezing cold air, or part of the floor had collapsed, or the roof was sagging  _ just _ enough where Nero felt distinctly nervous being anywhere near it.

Another two pictures were taken by the camera strapped around his neck before he found something. There was a long crack in the wall in a corner of the second floor and, having absolutely nothing else to do, Nero pried his fingers in and tried to open it up more. To his surprise, the wall moved with ease, exposing a spiral staircase leading… up. 

He didn’t quite know what to make of that. All the articles about the castle reported that only the first two floors were accessible, with all the other staircases to the third floor deliberately destroyed by the prior owner.

In other words, the staircase here was probably incredibly unstable, and Nero shouldn’t climb them.

But… there might be a room on the third floor (or however many other floors this one staircase led to) that was stable enough for Nero to sleep away the rest of the night. Plus, Nico would probably adore having pictures of the castle that absolutely no one else had. Getting Nico off his back for longer would be a  _ godsend _ with the upcoming midterms.

So, against his better judgement, Nero climbed those fucking stairs. 

They were nearly endless _. _ Every rotation, there would be one of those old medieval windows where Nero could see that he kept going higher, and higher, and  _ higher. _

Nero knew that he was probably in one of the castle’s towers after a good thirty seconds of climbing stairs, but he’d already made it this far, so why stop? Plus, maybe he’d get lucky, and there’d be a room at the top of the tower that was stable enough for him to sleep in.

It took a good two minutes to reach the top of the stairs, and by that point, Nero was out of breath. Normally, he wouldn’t be—he got into college with a sports scholarship, after all—but these stairs were like… half a foot tall and there weren’t any hand rails he could use as support. It was like doing steps for practice, but worse.

After he caught his breath and the burning in his legs had dulled a considerable amount, Nero looked at wherever he’d wound up. 

At the top of the staircase was a tall arch, about a good foot or two taller than Nero himself (which was really saying something, considering he was pretty close to six feet tall), which opened up into a large, circular room. On the far left was a king-sized four-poster bed with deep red sheets crumpled around it, the color matching the various tapestries hung around the walls. Candelabras with intact candles in their holds were posted in the four ‘corners’ of the room, which seemed incredibly unnecessary with the giant opening, like a doorway without the doors, set in the wall directly across from Nero, which led to a balcony. 

Out of all the rooms Nero had been in, this one was the best. Yes, there was that massive opening that exposed it to the open, frigid air, but it wasn’t actively collapsing. Plus, there were two thick curtains on either side of it with fraying ropes keeping them tied back. Nero would bet all his money that if he untied them, they would block the doorway and keep the cold out.

It was going to be a pain in the  _ ass _ to climb down all of those stairs again, but that was the only negative Nero could see. Plus, he probably still had his spare lighter in his bag, so he could light the candles for some nice, ambient lighting and additional warmth. All he had to do was figure out where to put Nico’s camera and he could sleep.

First thing’s first, though. Nero tested his theory and untied one of the ropes, watching it swing lose and cover half the doorway. The cold draft that had washed over Nero immediately stopped, thick curtain blocking the wind completely. He had to hand it to the designers behind the room—this was a pretty sweet way of dealing with the cold without having a door.

On the other hand, he was pretty sure this would be an easy way for potential assassins to sneak in without disturbing anyone, so maybe it  _ wasn’t _ as cool an idea as he thought. 

And… now he was paranoid. Of nothing. Way to go, Nero!

Before he released the other curtain, Nero went back to the bed and took off his backpack. He fished around the small pockets and eventually fished out his lighter, flicking it a few times before a small flame spluttered to life. He then walked around the room, methodically lighting each candelabra. It wasn’t enough to raise the temperature of the room, but it was a small comfort.

With all of that, Nero untied the second curtain, fully blocking the doorway. The only light in the room came from the candles, and it was only enough to make sure Nero didn’t trip over his own two feet. Going back to the bed, Nero pulled back the thick, red blanket and slipped underneath, putting his backpack on the floor beside him while leaving the camera tied around his neck.

Nico would get a lot of pictures of the ceiling or the bed for the next couple hours, and she’d definitely be mad at him in the morning, but that was  _ her _ problem, not his. Right now, Nero was going to sleep the rest of the night away and wake up to a morning where he was a hundred dollars richer.

* * *

Nero breathed in, eyes fluttering open as the uncomfortable feeling of something  _ wrong _ settled in his gut.

For a moment, he was confused. He hadn’t even realized that he’d fallen asleep, at first, but he noticed that the ambient candlelight seemed… dimmer? He’d also moved a bit—he’d gone from laying on his back to his side, the camera squished between his chest and the mattress.

But still, there was something  _ wrong. _ Something  _ off. _ Nero didn’t know why, but his gut was so rarely wrong—or active to the point where it would wake him up from a decently peaceful sleep—that he couldn’t ignore it. His gaze roamed over the wall, fingers twitching slightly as he rolled onto his back—

And saw a person leering over him.

Nero jerked and opened his mouth to scream, but a large, cold hand clamped over his mouth before he could. He flailed and scratched at the man’s wrist, but it was like kicking a brick wall.

“Hey, hey,” The man whispered, and Nero looked up, glaring at where the shadow of the man’s face would be. Instead of pure darkness, however, Nero saw two glowing red eyes. “No need to scream, I’m not going to hurt you.”

_ Bullshit, _ Nero wanted to spit against the man’s palm, but the longer he stares, the harder it is for him to think, a haze settling over his mind. His limbs suddenly feel like lead weights, and his hands fall to his side with a loud thump in the room’s silence.

“There we go.” The man’s hand moved up, gently brushing through Nero’s hair. Nero opened his mouth, but the idea of talking, or screaming, or doing  _ anything _ right now felt exhausting. It was taxing just to breathe and blink lazily. “That’s a good boy. What’s your name?”

A small part of Nero’s barely functioning brain wanted to tell the mystery man to go fuck himself, kick him in the balls, and run like a bat out of hell for the entrance. However, the rest of his mind could barely focus on anything besides what the man had said, transfixed on how  _ relaxed  _ he felt. He hadn’t felt this calm in… so long, and it was so hard to think, and why shouldn’t he give this man his name? 

“…Nero…”

_ “Nero.” _ Nero felt his whole body shiver, the haze over his mind intensifying and silencing what little rational thought he managed to cling to. “That’s a nice name. It suits someone as beautiful as you.”

The man gently tilted Nero’s head to the side, making sure to maintain eye contact while doing so. Once the man was satisfied with the position, he began to lean closer to Nero, more of his features becoming apparent. Hidden by the ambient red glow, Nero could see that he had slit pupils, as well as silver hair, and some stubble.

Nero opened his mouth to say… something, but his tongue felt bloated and dumb, like the world’s worst cottonmouth, times ten. Even if he could speak, he can’t seem to hold onto thoughts for very long. Even the brief observations he’d made slip through his mind like sand through a strainer—there for only a second, maybe two, before falling through and disappearing.

Even with his brain currently being impaired, Nero felt a quick flash of panic when he felt a cool breeze hit his neck. Something cold and wet brushed against his pulse, and Nero felt a little bit lighter, more in control.

The haze lifted enough for Nero to realize,  _ oh god, that’s his tongue, _ before the man bit his neck.

Nero screamed and flailed, the sharp stab of pain enough to jerk him out of whatever stupor he’d landed in. The man’s mouth was icy-cold, and Nero could felt like his neck was on fire. He frantically punches against the man’s chest, kicking his legs wildly, but he had no leverage, and he couldn’t move without making whatever the man was doing to his neck worse.

And then, the pain twisted, and warmth flooded Nero’s body. Nero’s eyes fluttered and rolled back, moaning as a wave of pleasure slammed into him, his pants suddenly too tight. Nero felt the man’s too-cold lips  _ suck _ over the bite mark he’d left, and an orgasm slammed into him like a truck, knocking out what little rational thought he had left.

If Nero were more aware of himself, he’d be completely mortified at the debauched moan he let out. Whatever mindless haze he’d been lost in before had nothing on this. Before felt like wading through a dream, unreal and drifting through the motions. This was hell, his body on fire as pleasure coursed through him like a poison. His head spun as all the blood in his body rushed south, his dick still hard despite it only being a few seconds (minutes?) after he came.

And the bastard on top of him was doing  _ nothing _ to help. He was still curled over Nero, mouth firmly attached to his neck, one hand in his hair while the other pressed against the mattress, nearly brushing Nero’s arm. He was so cold and still that, if it weren’t for the gentle suckling against Nero’s pulse, Nero would think the battered ceiling had fallen on top of him, and he was being crushed to death by ancient stone.

But the man moved, pulling away from Nero’s neck for a moment to pant raggedly, then diving back to Nero’s neck, biting once again and tearing the flesh. Nero screamed, back arching away from the mattress as the pain mixed with pleasure and pulled a second orgasm out of him.

From that point, everything blurred into one long, hazy memory. Nero’s head spun from two orgasms, practically one right after the other, as well as blood loss and the blinding pain in his neck. He knew something was wrong, but his thoughts were too scrambled for him to do anything. His limbs felt like they were alien to him, and he could only breath and look up at the ceiling dazedly, shivering as the man continued to lathe at his neck, sparks of pain and pleasure shooting through his exhausted body.

“You taste  _ amazing.” _ The man mumbled against Nero’s neck, licking a final ice-cold stripe across his pulse before pulling back. The words barely pierced through the haze blanketing Nero’s mind, his body twitching pitifully as his head spun. All he could see in his cloudy vision but was  _ red.  _ Red drapes, red curtains, red lips, red eyes, red red  _ red— _ “I think I’ll keep you.”

The man snapped his fingers, and Nero fell limp against the bed, seeing nothing but a void of black.

**Author's Note:**

> the more stuff i write for this fandom the more i expose myself as a dirty monster fucker huh
> 
> Also, I _may_ write a sequel? This story is complete on its own, so I’m marking it as such, but if you see this getting marked as part of another series down the road, you know why


End file.
